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iPod touch 8GB model - a hassle to keep updating?

P

pavinder

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 16, 2009
175
113
With a cashback offer up my sleeve I'm trying to decide which iPod to buy. I want something with high capacity but am happy to wait a few months before getting a 32GB (or higher if it's available) next generation iPod Touch. So for now I'm contemplating using the cashback offer to get the 8GB Touch or a 16GB Nano.

As it'll be mainly used for video and music, the Touch obviously would be better for video, but I'm really concerned that with just 8GB of space I'll be constantly having to remove/update the library. My music collection alone is around 150GB, so it'll need serious amounts of selection to narrow down to 4 or 5 GB to carry. For this reason I'm considering buying the 16GB Nano, despite it's much smaller screen and lack of other functionality.

Can any 8GB Touch users confirm whether my fears are justified or not? Do you it a hassle and waste a lot of time narrowing down your collection again and again due to the size limitations?
Alternatively, do any Nano users find the Nano screen is in fact big enough to watch TV programs or movies in widescreen format?

Thanks in advance for comments.
 
I have an 8GB 2G, and its not that big of a deal. I have around 750 songs on it and 3/4 of it I don't even listen to. My 750 songs take up about 4-6GB, since I have 2.0GB left on it. I keep the other 2GB to put movies on it when I take plane/car rides. So if you can narrow your music collection down it should be fine. But, if you can't, wait for the 3G touch. (Although i'm not sure if the 3G touch will have any more space)
 
I ihave an 8gb touch and dont have any problem with it. I also have a nano and the screen isnt small if you only watch one tv show but for movies and/or multiple tv shows it is a bit small.
 
I have an 8GB touch and I find it a major pain to sync to my iTunes database. It doesn't have enough space to sync any of my full playlists. Unlike my iPod Shuffle, the touch doesn't adjust well to playlists that are too large to sync in their entirety. And if it's filled to capacity with music I can't add or update apps. What I've done finally is just create a "Touch playlist" that it syncs with, and I have to add and remove songs manually from that playlist. I think the whole music interface on the touch is funky compared to my other iPods (Classic and Shuffle).
 
Thanks for the comments everyone, much appreciated.

I'll have to ensure as Topper suggests that I'm well narrowed. I'm concerned as Eric mentions that keeping it fully loaded might prevent loading new apps, which would be a royal pain, but I like the solution of a dedicated Touch playlist - should make things straightforward even if updating has to be done more often than I'd like.

gan6660, your comment about the nano screen is well noted - I think I may give the nano a miss for that very reason.
 
pavinder said:
I want something with high capacity but am happy to wait a few months before getting a 32GB (or higher if it's available) next generation iPod Touch.
Click to expand...

you'd have to wait till sept for the next generation iPod Touch with no guarantee they will introduce a bigger capacity ram disks.

I have 16gb 1st gen and have no problems worrying about space and I have a fair bit on my iPod: music, movies, photos, apps
 
I too have an 8 gb iPod touch. I let iTunes make selections for me by using its smart playlist feature. Takes no time in syncing. I have 650 songs on it, 20 music videos, apps and photos and still have 2.5 gb left.
Maybe take a bigger step and get the 16g instead. But don't sweat the updating and syncing as it works great.
 
Eric S. said:
But of course that doesn't help if the touch doesn't have enough capacity for the entire playlist. So whether the playlist is a smart one or not, the problem is the same.
Click to expand...

Picture2-2.png
 
OK, I see. That's a nice way to generate a random playlist for the touch, but you still need a separate list for the device. You can't sync a regular playlist (smart or not) if it's too large. On the Shuffle, for example, if you sync with a list that exceeds its capacity, iTunes will automatically ask you if you want a random selection from that playlist.
 
Eric S. said:
OK, I see. That's a nice way to generate a random playlist for the touch, but you still need a separate list for the device. You can't sync a regular playlist (smart or not) if it's too large. On the Shuffle, for example, if you sync with a list that exceeds its capacity, iTunes will automatically ask you if you want a random selection from that playlist.
Click to expand...

you're going to argue this to the end aren't you?

all you have to do is make the playlist once - and it won't be too big if you can specify the size. then ALL you have to do is select that playlist to be synced.

you really don't have to do anything after that.

i wouldn't see what the big deal is if you had:


Eric's iPod Touch Selection
Eric's iPod Shuffle Selection
Eric's iPod Classic Selection

each with the same rules except differing in size?

you could even put them in a playlist folder named: iPod Selections

and then have the playlist arrow collapse so it wouldn't look cluttered at all.


i don't really see any negative results from doing this :confused:
 
michael.lauden said:
you're going to argue this to the end aren't you?
Click to expand...

I'm not arguing. I'm just stating what is the case.

all you have to do is make the playlist once - and it won't be too big if you can specify the size. then ALL you have to do is select that playlist to be synced.

you really don't have to do anything after that.

i wouldn't see what the big deal is if you had:


Eric's iPod Touch Selection
Eric's iPod Shuffle Selection
Eric's iPod Classic Selection

each with the same rules except differing in size?

you could even put them in a playlist folder named: iPod Selections

and then have the playlist arrow collapse so it wouldn't look cluttered at all.


i don't really see any negative results from doing this :confused:
Click to expand...

You're talking about making playlists specifically for these devices. I'm talking about general playlists that I already have. For example, I have smart playlists for various decades - 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s ... Each one of these has more songs than my touch has capacity for. If I sync to one of these with my Shuffle, iTunes automatically makes a random selection from that playlist. If I try to sync the touch to one of these it won't do that (as I recall, it just tells you there is not enough space). That's what I mean.

Sure, you can create a playlist specifically for the touch. I already said that's what I do. But you have to go to the extra step of doing that instead of having iTunes do it for you. If one day I want to hear random songs from the 50s and the next day random songs from the 60s, I need two separate playlists for the touch or else change the definitions for the touch playlist. So I consider that a pain compared to the way the Shuffle works.
 
Thanks for the further suggestions. The Size Limit checkbox was something I was unaware of....

I've gone ahead and ordered the 8GB Touch, but just a question on these smart playlists - is one stuck with the original selection of tracks iTunes has made, or does the playlist have a randomize/refresh button (or equivalent) which will refresh the list with a new (in the above case) 5GB selection of songs to then sync with the iPod?
 
J&JPolangin said:
...8GB for a touch IS too small...

The screen on the nano IS too small...

Skip them, you won't be happy with those choices - either wait for a 64GB version of the iPod Touch or get a 32 GB now...
Click to expand...

Thing is - judging by this forum and others, people have been waiting and predicting an increase FOR MONTHS. Like its getting a little ridiculous... aaargh
 
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